Climategate 2.0 – “Over 2.5 billion people live on less than $2 a day”

The long promised, but forgotten about, further release of the climategate emails has just occured…

And the accusation is that it was a deliberate attempt to influence Durban Cop17 Climate Conference.

…. and of course this is EXACTLY what it was.

The real question should be, what is the motive..

Prof Michael Mann of course, has just repeated his usual mantra, of his thoughts of the motivations of the people behind the release:

“agents doing the dirty bidding of the fossil fuel industry know they can’t contest the fundamental science of human-caused climate change. So they have instead turned to smear, innuendo, criminal hacking of websites, and leaking out-of-context snippets of personal emails in their effort to try to confuse the public about the science and thereby forestall any action to combat this critical threat. Its right out of the tried-and-true playbook of climate change denial.”

Michael Mann – Guardian

The accompanying note from FOIA, perhaps reveals  a different motive, one that I very much relate to:

“Over 2.5 billion people live on less than $2 a day.”

“Every day nearly 16.000 children die from hunger and related causes.”

“One dollar can save a life” — the opposite must also be true.

“Poverty is a death sentence.”

“Nations must invest $37 trillion in energy technologies by 2030 to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions at sustainable levels, and significantly reduce C02 from air travel.”

Today’s decisions should be based on all the information we can get, not on hiding the decline.” FOIA – Nov 22, 2011

The last 20 years since Rio, have seen vast amounts of money, but more importantly political capital and TIME chasing a vision of AGW derived catastrophy.  Even if the direst predictions for the future were true.  Money and time would have been better spent (imho) in developing the infrastructure in the poorest parts of the world, to deal now to the natural weather extremes that have occured since time immemorial. Because a extreme weather related death, flood, drought, hurricane, tornado, etc spread of disease, etc, is a 1st order function of being poor… 

ie Malaria is predicted to spread becase of AGW, by some, meaning more deaths in an indeterminate future… With the political capital and time (and relativelly small amounts of money) malaria could be erradicated in a few short years. And electricity to the billion and a half with out it, sanitisation, clean water, all the diseases of the poor, etc, etc could be eradicated. 

And if an AGW hurricane, or flood, or whatever does comes along in the developing world in 20,30,40 years, infrastructure, wealth will protect the populations whether it is of natural attribution, or a supposed 5% (or whatever) future AGW hurricane…

So the big question of the email leak comes down to motive..

Michael Mann appears to be trapped in his own thinking, as the ‘enemies’ he imagines are very much a USA centric construct (probably very true 15 or so years ago).

But WORLD emission have gone up 40% in the last 20 years.. and it is not because of the WEST.. China and India, and all the developing countries have clearly chosen economic growth over AGW. And thus Kyoto fails, and any sucessor, as no developing country will cut any emissions, which in reality is energy production needed for growth.

(‘developing world’ – even though China now emits more per capita than France, en par with Italy, and will very soon race ahead of the EU average and India, et al will do all they can to match this growth – and have lots of coal)

Leo Hickman of the Guardian has I think a very good initial article about Climategate 2.0, put together very quickly no doubt, and I think very balanced for the Guardian (far better than the BBC’s Richard Black initial reaction, who makes no mention of content), ie he picks out one of the key issues regading FOI, and mentions perhaps a non (‘evil’ motive) . Balanced enough to no doubt get criticism from everybody probably ;-) , so Leo is doing something right.

I would LOVE to hear George Monbiot reaction, to the new Phil Jones, FOI related email content, as he was very strong worded about Phil Jones – FOI behaviour… the latest emails really clarify this: (extracts)

“I’ve been told that IPCC is above national FOI Acts. One way to cover yourself and all those working in AR5 would be to delete all emails at the end of the
process”

“With the earlier FOI requests re David Holland, I wasted a part of a day deleting numerous emails and exchanges with almost all the skeptics. So I have virtually nothing. I even deleted the email that I inadvertently sent. “- Jones writing to UEA Information Officer

This rather worried Osborne, who was prompted to remind Jones ‘not to say deleting’ in face of FOI, that would be illegal, but housekeeping ……. ;-)

Hi Phil!

re. your email to Dave Palmer [which he copied in his response to you andcc'd to me, Keith & Michael McGarvie, and which has hence already been multiply copied within the UEA system, and therefore will probably exist
for a number of months and possibly years,and could be released under FOI if a request is made for it during that time!]

I assume that you didn’t delete any emails that David Holland has requested (because that would be
illegal)
but that instead his request merely prompted you to do a spring clean of various other emails that hadn’t been requested, as part of your regular routine of deleting old emails.

If that is what you meant, then it might be a good idea to clarify your previous email to Dave Palmer, to
avoid it being misunderstood.

The way things seem to be going, I think it best if we discuss all FOI, EIR, Data Protection requests in person wherever possible, rather than via email. It’s such a shame that the skeptics’ vexatious use of this
legislation may prevent us from using such an efficient modern technology as email, but it seems that if we want to have confidential discussions then we may need to avoid it.

I shall delete this email and those related to it as part of my regular routine of deleting old emails! – Osborne

It’s quite funny really,  a very careful email that may be FOI’d itself reminding Phil that he meant ‘spring cleaning’ not deleteing (well that’s my perception of it). They really do not understand the spirit of this law – motive blind.

Ben Pile of Climate Resistance, takes a look at the ‘Influence Durban’ question, and makes the contrast to all the ‘frightening message and scientific ‘press releases’ (full reports to follow much  :( )  also no doubt designed to influence Durban.

I’m sure much more will be said….. 

The best place to watch is probably Bishop Hill, Climate Audit and Watts Up With That and quite possible Dot Earth and even the Guardian. The Telegraph take should be interesting (Gray vs Delingpole, Lean vs Booker)  and the Daily Mail as more information comes out..

But the abosulte majority of the public, politicians and even scientists will be oblivious to it, the real world has real pressing issues. Even if this event gives perversly Durban  a spike of interest, the public/politicians, etc will still have moved on..

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The Ice age really was coming

Despite protestations to the contrary, from todays climate scientists, the ice age reallywas threatened by the scientists, politicans and the media in the 70′s and 80′s.  Stephen Schneider in particular gets a mention. CO2 was to blame!!.

Over at Bishop Hill  (h/t) there are lots of comments about the scientific literature, journals,media, politicians and TV of the time,frightening the public with a coming ice age, with almost identical themes (as seen in the video) that we see with man made climate change (warming this time) popular delusion

….this is now denied ;)

my example, is the fact that it made it into popular culture and also that so many people remember, this is all ignored as well..

from the iconic 1970′s song – ‘London Calling’ – (The Clash)

CHORUS
The ice age is coming, the sun’s zooming in
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Independent – Green Schemes are ‘Wide Open to Major Corruption’

Both The Independent and The Telegraph write today about a Transparency International Report entitled – Global Corruption Report: Climate Change.

Whilst corruption in Carbon Markets, Carbon Credits, windfarms scams, Solar power fraud and many other clever money making mechanisms, is not new news.

It will be hard for governments and environmental groups to ignore this report. Not least when it spells out that many of the poor countries ‘affected by climate change’ are also amongst the most corrupt.

The Independant chose the headline: Green Schemes are ‘Wide Open to Major Corruption’

 ”Corruption is threatening global steps to combat climate change, a new report from Transparency International (TI) warned yesterday. Billions of pounds will be plundered and wasted, it says, unless stronger measures are introduced against embezzlement and misappropriation.” – Independent

The Telegraph chose the headline: Climate Change spending at risk of fraud and Corruption

The report states: “Where huge amounts of money flow through new and untested financial markets and mechanisms, there is always a risk of corruption.”

It warns: “Corruption risks are also high because of the level of complexity, uncertainty and novelty that surrounds many climate issues.”- Telegraph

Who needs fraud and corruption anyway to make money out of ‘climate change’?

Also reported today by the BBC, The Times and The Telegraph a piece of news which highlights the massive subsidies behind wind turbine electricty generation

The Telegraph: Wind farms paid £900,000 to switch off for one night

Wind farms operators were paid £900,000 by the National Grid to disconnect their turbines for one night because the electricity was not needed.

The six Scottish wind farms were asked to stop producing electricity on a particularly windy night last month as the National Grid was overloaded.

Their transition cables do not have the capacity to transfer the power to England and so they were switched off and the operators received compensation. One operator received £312,000, while another benefited by £263,000

Thus this  story highlights the complete mess that the UK electricity infrastructure and UK Energy policy is in alongside the unsustainable amount of subsidies going to all those companies involved in the greenrush for renewables.

“Hasty attempts to meet targets for renewable energy mean some Scottish wind farms are now in the extraordinary position of not only printing money when they generate, but printing it even faster when they throw their energy away,” he told the Sunday Times.

The average turbine is understood to generate power worth about £150,000 a year, but is awarded incentives in the form of subsidies worth £250,000.” – Telegraph (The Times is behind a paywall)

I expect ever higher electricity bills in the UK may eventually focus the politicians thoughts on ALL the issues above.

Links: (you can buy the report)

The Transparency International Report  – Global Corruption Report – Climate Change

BBC – Scots windfarms paid cash to stop producing energy

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Blogger Burn Out – its good to take a break

I haven’t stopped blogging, just been taking a break and have taken the time for a rethink.

If It’s good enough for James Delingpole (three weeks  R & R) following his Press complaints result, I thought time to take a step back and relax.  Time to enjoy the Easter Holidays with my family, and despite all my least expectations spend a day enjoy watching the Royal Wedding.  It helped having a very enthusiastic 6 year old daughter asking all sorts of questions.

Plus, my wife’s business has been shut for a month for major building works, and a complete redesign and refit. Thus NO income…

Real world intervening with blogging..

I will continue but at a slower pace and less comments elsewhere.

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It is good to have a debate

I am going along to the Spectator  ‘climate change’ debate on Tuesday 29th March in London, hopefully I can meet up with some ‘climate change’ blog regulars (both sides very welcome)to have a chat afterwards.

Yet, it has been noted before that it can be difficult to get the opposing side of the debate to show up for a climate change (man made) debate. Peter Gill’s summarised his experience at Bishop Hill a couple of weeks ago, or possibly Peter is not quite famous enough as a former Chancellor

Some of you may remember Peter as the man who famously didn’t write the Institute of Physics submission to the House of Commons inquiry into Climategate. Peter wanted to tell me about a recent invitation he’d had to take part in a global warming debate at one of the bits of the University of London. After several months of to-ing and fro-ing, the who event has now been cancelled because nobody was willing stand up to represent the other side of the argument. – Bishop Hill

Anyway, I imight turn up as an eco warrior (or just a name badge) and see how it plays out. The idea of most debates of course are about winning over an audience, it would be much more interesting  if one party opposing or for the motion is open-minded enough to be persuaded by the debate, but I imagine in this case it may be unlikely.
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The Heathrow snow chaos report is out: Rare rate of snowfall since records began (6 years!)?

A report into last December’s snow chaos at Heathrow Airport is out, entitled Heathrow Snow Resilence Enquiry

It includes a little reminder to perhaps reflect the new thoughts on ‘climate disruption’ vs global warming (man made).

Even under global warming, periods of extreme cold are still possible for the UK (54)

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Who voted for Greenpeace Mr Huhne?

Who voted for Greenpeace at the last UK general election?

A simple rhetorical question for Mr Huhne, because in the Guardian/Observer it was reported that Greenpeace will be keeping an eye on things:

“Chris Huhne, the energy and climate secretary, said recently that “green” organisations such as Greenpeace would be asked to play a formal monitoring role to check that government was meeting its commitments.” – Observer, March 13 2011

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Congratulations to Watts Up With That

Congratulations to Anthony Watts  and all the moderators,  commentators and guest authors at Watts Up With That.

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Hide the Decline – 2 pictures for 2000 comments

A guest post at Watts Up With That

Judith Curry has tackled the ‘Hide the Decline’ issue at her blog Climate Etc.  The issue is that data was hidden from policymakers  (and the public) so as to present a ‘simpler’ message… and other data spliced in to perhaps give a very different message?

Remember it is all about the idea of ‘unprecedented’ global warming because the politicians, media and public were warned by graphs like this….

Tree ring data – Thermometers spliced in – tree ring data truncated

Tree Ring Data alone – with deleted data reinstated

In the video link (30 mins in ) in Judith Curry’s article the second graph is how ‘all scientists at Berkeley’ would present the data.  The whole video is well worth watching.

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The Carbon Brief – The European rapid response team

Originally a guest post at Watts Up With That

The Carbon Brief is a new website  designed to provide a rapid response to any climate chaage related stories in the media.

It is also appears to be intended as a resource for articles and it claims to be an independent mediator between journalists and climate scientists.   

The Carbon Brief’s twitter followers seem to have different expectations.

Andrew SimmsNef Bio: 10:10 Campaign Board Member, New Economic Foundation (NEF), Greenpeace UK board member, co-author of The Green Deal Report, founder of the 100 Month initiativeTrustee of TERI Europe(alongside Rajendra Pachauri, Sir John Houghton and Sir Crispin Tickell)

The Carbon Brief seems particularly concerned about how sceptical stories in UK media and blogs are being received by people in India and China and reported in non-EU countries media and blogs. (my bold). 

“The media has a huge impact on the way that the climate debate has taken shape in the UK, as it has in the US, Australia and around the world. Comment articles in newspapers and blogs here are often copied and published thousands of times around the globe. The arguments fomented in the pages of The Guardian or the Daily Telegraph can have a significant impact on how climate change is reported in India and China.” – The Carbon Brief 

On further investigation, the website demonstrates that they appear to be nothing but advocates of consensus climate change policy.  A look at their further resources  page gives the first two links as the Climate Science Rapid Response Team and RealClimate and it also include Climate Progress. There are no sceptical or even lukewarm website or blog links of any kind. 

“Our team of researchers will provide a rapid response service for climate science stories. We go straight to peer-reviewed science and the relevant scientists to get their opinions” – The Carbon Brief 

The Carbon Brief appears to have been set up for the specific purpose of countering sceptical stories relating to ‘climate change’ by going to AGW consensus  scientific sources for an instant rebuttal.  It is a project of the Energy and Strategy Centre, funded and supported by the European Climate Foundation (ECF)

ECF describes itself as “the largest philanthropic organisation in Europe focused on influencing government policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions”. -The Carbon Brief  

“…. To meet that challenge, six funding partners joined forces in 2007 to create a new multi-million euro philanthropic entity called the European Climate Foundation.”  – About Us –  ECF 

On the The Carbon Brief website they say they are just getting started.
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The BBC say….”in the loathsome corner with Paedophiles and Climate Change Deniars”

Updates added:

I am both angered and saddened.

It was no doubt just a throwaway comment, with little thought behind it.

When Michael Buerk the presenter of the BBC radio program the ‘Moral Maze’ said in his intro to a debate about Multiculturalism in the UK: BBC iPlayer link (20 seconds in)

“not long ago to question multiculturalism…. 

….risked being branded racists and pushed into the loathesome corner with paedophiles and climate change deniers

am I being too sensitive?

I presume that they mean ‘man made climate change deniers’, as I know of no-one that denies natural climate change, yet the words are used interchangeably.

To many people this would be a ‘climate change denier’ blog, what ever that may mean, should I be concerned for my personal safety?

I’m just sceptical of the catastrophic, End of the World’ cult like, gloom and doom version of Anthroprogenic Global Warming. (10:10, Greenpeace, Gore, WWF, Transition Towns, etc)
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Climate Sceptics Defend Science From Duplicity?

It has all kicked off today at Climate Audit where Ryan O’Donnell is very annoyed…

………in  blog articles titled Steig’s Trick and  Coffin, meet nail.

All about the Steig, Mann et al paper that generated a Nature front page and world wide alarmism that the Antarctic was suffering man made global warming.

Some sceptical people thought that they had got their maths wrong and decided to publish paper to show how the statitistics should be done, thus improving the science.

There then follows a long tail.
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Has the BBC broken faith with the General Public?

Originally a guest post of mine at Watts Up With That

It is my opinion that the BBC in broadcasting BBC 2 Horizon program ‘Science Under Attack’ did not treat the general public in the UK and at least one of the interviewees in the ’good faith’ that they should be able to expect from the BBC. After the program aired, I contacted James Delingpole, who was one of the sceptics portrayed in the program and he told me how he was approached to participate by the BBC.

“I am making a film for BBC’s Horizon on public trust in science and I was hoping you may be able to help.”  – BBC Producer

However, the programs underlying message to the general public came across to me as that climate science was under attack by climate sceptics or deniers of science who are on a par with those that deny Aids, vaccines and extreme anti GM environmentalist activists.

Yet, in discussion with a NASA scientist, the presenter Professor Paul Nurse apparently makes a gross factual error informing the viewer that annual man-made CO2 emissions are;

seven times

that of the total natural annual emissions. This raised a number of eyebrows and is now subject to some discussion amongst the blogs, including at Bishop Hill.
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Climate Change Debate – Reconciliation in Lisbon?

This should be interesting a workshop to be held with pro and sceptical scientists and contributors in Lisbon: (Update: full list of atendees added)

Anthony Watts can’t make it but has delegated Steven Mosher in his stead (co author – Climategate – The Crutape Letters – Mosher/Fuller. I would also recommend Fred Pearce’s book – The Climate Files (a warmer view ;) )
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BBC Horizon – Attack On Science

Well it looks like the BBC have learned very little this year and the response to this program should be interesting. There are more than enough journalists/ news editors around that are very aware of the issues that were glossed over and waved away..

The Professor spoke to Phil Jones, as the enquiries that he said had exonerated everybody, failed to ask a key questions… Could he have perhaps actually have asked Phil Jones.

Why did you ask colleagues to delete emails relating to the IPCC process? And, why did you feel the need to ask?

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An Excellent Guardian Article about the Brisbane floods

In the Guardian – Germaine Greer writes an excellent article about the causes of the Brisbane flooding and the failures of the public and local government (covered up warnings)  to do anything about it when they were forewarned.

Basically an entirely predicted La Nina event, an example of weather not climate 

Meteorologists warned Australians six months ago to prepare for a soaking. And nobody did a thing … 

Guardian:  Australian Floods: Why were we so surprised? by Germaine Greer 

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SourceWatch – Who and what is it intended for?

Note – I’m away for a couple of days, I doubt that I will have much opportunity to review and approve any new comments.

I came across Sourcewatch a little while ago.

If you were to also take a brief look at it’s global warming, climate change and climate skeptic section it will become quite clear what the contributors thoughts are  about ‘climate skeptics’. After browsing for a while I then considered:

Who and what is the climate skeptic section intended for?

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New Scientist – Those cursed climate emails

Originally a Guest Post of mine at Watts Up With That

The first edition of New Scientist (UK) of 2011 has a review of 2010 and a preview of 2011 section…

…and they are rather optimistic that the world has finally moved on from the climategate emails.

Those Cursed Climate emails – New Scientist Jan 1, 2011

Thousands of them were hacked off the servers of the University of East Anglia, home to one of the UK’s leading research units, in November 2009. In 2010, their content was dissected, re-dissected, and then dissected some more, amid claims that some climate scientists had engaged in fraudulent behaviour. Four independent reviews exonerated them, and datasets were made public that were previously under lock and key. And finally, the world moved on.”

(behind a paywall, but in their blog

This would just appear to be the time-honoured PR strategy  ‘Nothing to be seen here, move along please’ and an attempt at controlling a message.  So there is to be no optimism from New Scientist that the world could now be safe from Thermageddon (NS October 2010).

 

It seems that the great CAGW delusion, early 21st century ‘modern end of the world cult’, cultural phenomenon or whatever else history will call it, has not quite yet had its bubble pierced.

In 2010, I personally thought that perhaps the lowest point of climate science reporting in the UK, was the New Scientist, Age of Denial issue with a Special 10 page report.

 
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The Met Office Secret Predictions and the political implications

Updated from a guest post at Watts Up with That

In The Telegraph (UK newspaper), it was reported that Roger Harrabin, an environment analyst at the BBC, told the Radio Times:

“The trouble is that we simply don’t know how much to trust the Met Office. How often does it get the weather right and wrong. And we don’t know how it compares with other, independent forecasters.” – The Telegraph

Boris Johnson – The Mayor of London, is arguably perhaps the most democratically personally elected politician in the UK. As over 1.1 million London voters voted for him directly for the elected office of Mayor. This is compared to a UK Member of Parliament, who might win their seat with as little as 20,000 votes. In many seats, if you wore the right party badge a ‘mascot’ might get elected. Whilst the public are voting for a person, it is the party they represent that is being voted for.

In my opinion, no other Conservative candidate could have won that election to become Mayor, at a time (May 2008) when the Labour Party were still very much in power in the UK. Boris Johnson won peoples votes despite him being a Conservative for many members of the public that voted for him.

Thus, for a high profile Conservative like Boris to write glowingly about (arch sceptic) Piers Corbyn and criticise the Met Office, is in my opinion very significant politically in the UK. Especially in light of the fact that Boris wrote this before the Met Office started denying they had predicted mild winters and before their ‘secret’ prediction statement.

Boris Johnson cares whether London (including Heathrow airport) and himself is made to look bad in the eyes of a world audience. I wonder what Boris thinks about the Met Office ‘secret’ prediction?

As Boris is in the position of power, knowing whether or not London and Heathrow received the ‘secret’ warning’.
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Happy New Year – An ‘Ice Age is Coming?’

Happy New Year everyone!

At a friends dinner party last night, we were watching the BBC coverage of the London fireworks and the midnight countdown. A compilation track of music was being played by the BBC.. Just after Big Ben sounded in the New Year I had a little chuckle when London Calling (The Clash, 1979) came on,

in the chorus (not played):

“The ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in”

Proof, perhaps that the 70′s ice age scare was very real and had made it into popular culture. Watts Up has an interesting article  ‘Time Covers and Global Warming’ on a similar theme.
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